The future lies with me...

Adriano Olivetti (Città dell’Uomo)

There was a moment during the 20th century in the middle of the 60s when an Italian company had the opportunity to lead the worldwide informatics revolution, 10 years before the guys from Silicon Valley: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. This technological revolution had its roots in a cultural and social revolution and in an industrial model conceived beyond the usual concepts of Socialism and Capitalism from its promoter, Adriano Olivetti who began to experiment with it since the 30s in Ivrea, Turin district. Olivetti grew to be the biggest Italian company, and the one with the greatest commercial success on a worldwide scale, with one third of the global market in its sector. It was an atypical multinational: with strong roots in its region, characterised by advanced social policies, constant training and cultural activities of an international perspective, which were the secret of its commercial success rather than the philanthropic and patronage consequence of its success. How was this entrepreneurial model born? What did its managerial style, designed to enhance the sharing of knowledge and the company’s social responsibility, consist of? which promoted an alternative kind of society leading to the greatest industrial opportunity that Italy has ever had?